Food Entrepreneur - March 3, 2020 - 16

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(ideally $15 to $40) and packaging that is
recyclable, easy to open and protective
of the contents. Multipacks and variety
packs especially appeal to online shoppers, she said.
A product page should include basic
and enhanced product detail, images and
videos that effectively explain the product
and brand. A product's description should
be concise and include key words that may
help the brand stand out in a search. Prior
to the recent cauliflower craze, Cali'flour
Foods used terms like
"gluten-free," "grain-free"
and "low-sugar" to generate
traffic to its page.
"Sixty-nine per cent
of consumers will abandon
a product page for lack of
information," Ms. McGinn
said. "So many people
think the product gets
abandoned because people
don't like the price. That is
not really the case. Think
about the last time you went
on an Amazon page and you couldn't
tell from the title or bullet points or the
picture whether you were getting three
of something or 30 of something. Were
you getting a case or a single unit for $30?
It's so important to have your shelf, your
content, looking great."
Cali'flour Foods features a landing
page on Amazon offering recipe inspiration, product descriptions and the founder's
story. The company recently created a video
demonstrating the brand's use of cauliflower roots and stems to reduce waste and

to them, are critical for generating sales
on Amazon.
"Negative reviews can be a great
source of information for you," Ms. McGinn
said. "Don't think that the consumer just
doesn't know what they're talking about.
Use that information to inform what you
do with your brand, how you respond to
them, and do not ignore negative reviews.
Especially 1-star reviews. You really need
to be in touch with them."
Nutpods has generated more than
10,000 reviews and a 4.5-star (out of 5) rating. Reviews have helped the company refine its offering and go-to-market strategy,
Ms. Haydon said.
"Your reviews are a way to learn
about what your consumers are saying,
and that is something you won't get in the
grocery store," she said. "You won't get the
feedback. They just won't buy you again,
but you won't know if it's because of price
improve the product's nutritional content.
or taste or they didn't like your packaging
"On Amazon, they've developed all
or what have you...
kinds of programs to help tell your story,"
"You have to embrace the opportuMs. Lacey said. "You can upload videos; you nity to learn. You have to risk the market
can have a whole landing page on Amazon
telling you your product is not meeting
that describes your product. Those are
the need."
things you can't do in a store. You can run a
How a company interacts with online
coupon and a price reduction in a store. But shoppers and responds to reviews is key
there's no way to educate people."
for creating customer loyalty and protectTo be discovered among millions of
ing the brand's reputation, she added.
items, a "constant drumbeat of marketing"
"When it's time to raise capital with
is needed, Ms. McGinn said. Brands may
investors, they absolutely read all of your
reviews," Ms. Haydon said.
"That says something to them
if you're a company and you
have negative reviews and
you don't have any replies or
acknowledgement. Reviews
are a very useful tool."
Ultimately, brands
should offer a product that
fills a void in the marketplace.
- Madeline Haydon, Nutpods Both Ms. Lacey and Ms. Haydon developed products to
meet personal dietary needs
when no similar commercial
options existed.
use coupons, discount codes, subscribe"When we launched in 2015, there
and-save options and "lightning deals" to
were people organically looking for a
promote products.
vegan coffee creamer or a paleo coffee
"If you don't do marketing, you don't
creamer or a Whole30 coffee creamer
have an Amazon business," Ms. McGinn
or a gluten-free coffee creamer or a keto
said. "It's gotten more competitive, it's
coffee creamer," Ms. Haydon said. "The
gotten more expensive, and the amazing
things that simple pay-per-click marketing hard part is not how you get discovered
in a digital universe when you're a small
can do for you will put you on the map."
brand. The hard part is creating a product
that is hitting all the trends at the same
Ready for prime time
time so people are organically looking for
your product." ▪
Reviews, and how a brand responds

'Your reviews are a way to learn
about what your consumers are
saying, and that is something you
won't get in the grocery store.'

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